Ashwinder Egg Explosion

On Tuesday, June 8, 1999, an explosion rocked the castle of Slytherin Academy. Its source was a thawed Ashwinder Egg left in the office of Headmistress Umbridge. Umbridge was in her office at the time, along with the Academy's Healer, Evan Rosier. Both were rushed to the infirmary with severe burns and other injuries from the blast, but under the care of Rosier's student assistant Theodore Nott, the castle Matron, and Rosier's St. Mungo's assistant Regina Banks, both survived. As of June 24, however, Evan Rosier is still suffering from severe memory loss and has not returned to work. Since the explosion, Slytherin Academy has been under security lockdown, with assistance from Barty Crouch, Augustus Rookwood, and others.

The idea of an Ashwinder Egg explosion was conceived by Anthony Goldstein, then a servant at the Slytherin Academy, not long before he was assigned to student Terrence Higgs. In fact, it was that idea which caused Terrence to attempt to break the rowdy servant. When his attempts were unsuccessful, and thwarted by Headmistress Umbridge, Terrence moved on to bigger things.

At the end of April, Terrence left the Academy. He had intended to leave his former servant a gift of an Ashwinder egg, but delivered it instead on June 2nd, after ensuring that the source of the egg would be completely untraceable. The date and time of the explosion was set, and after sticking around for a few minutes to watch the blast, the unlikely pair left the castle.

First on the scene was Theodore Nott, who rushed both victims to the infirmary. Also nearby were Shaela Fawcett, who witnessed Anthony holding the egg, and Romilda Vane, who helped Shaela to safety. Immediately following Nott's message via journal, Bartemius Crouch Junior (head of Magical Law Enforcement) arrived to take charge of the scene of the crime. What followed was a series of interviews, room searches, and general inconveniences as the population of the castle - staff, students, and servants alike - were forced to endure the tightest security Slytherin Academy had yet seen.

The identity of the servant responsible was discovered, but he has not been found. Magical Law Enforcement is now offering a price on Goldstein's head higher even than that offered for James Potter. Thus far, Higgs has evaded the scrutiny of Law Enforcement completely and remains a freelance bounty hunter answering only to Crouch.